Alarm signal for parking meters



p 15, 1964 H. c. wnsron ETAL 3,148,826

ALARM SIGNAL FOR PARKING UE'I'ERS Filed June 4, 1962 ROBERT M. HOLDEN HERBERT c. W L INVENTORS AFF'V United States Patent 3,148,826 ALARM SIGNAL FOR PARKING METERS Herbert C. Wilton, 7800 SE. Luther Road, Portland 6,

0reg., and Robert M. Holden, 8836 SE. Ellis, Portland, Oreg.

Filed June 4, 1962, Ser. No. 199,973 2 Claims. (Cl. 232-1) This invention relates generally to improvements in parking meters and more particularly to visual and audible signaling means associated with the meter and designed to attract the attention of anyone in the proximity of the location of the meter that the meter is being dealt with to remove collected coins therefrom.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a bright conspicuously colored elongated tubular coin receptacle made of relatively thin metal, closed at its bottom end and extending substantially throughout the depth or height of the meter standpipe, and which must be withdrawn in its entirety from locked engagement with the bottom interior of the standpipe before the coins collected within the tube can be spilled therefrom into the custody of an authorized collector.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tubular coin receptacle of the character described made of a metal whose alloy and gauge is such that the loud and continuous clattering noise of rolling and tumbling impingement of coins against the walls of the tube as they are spilled from the receptacle after its removal from the standpipe will similarly produce an audible signal of coin removal.

A further object resides in the production of a tubular metal coin receptacle of such a gauge that it will not withstand the cutting action of pipe cutters or the like as used in some instances by vandals and others who attempt to break into the meters but instead the tube will wrinkle and distort and thus jamb itself within the standpipe of the meter.

Another feature resides in the fact that if the tubular receptacle should be severed in some manner or other, the collected coins therein would remain within the locked bottom portion of the receptacle remaining within the standpipe.

A still further object is the provision of a locking mechanism at the bottom end of the receptacle cooperating with companion locking mechanism secured and concealed Within the bottom end of the standpipe and wherein a certain manipulation of the coin receptacle, known only to an authorized coin collector who is aware of the hidden locking mechanism, must be accomplished before the mechanism can be unlocked to free the receptacle for removal.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a more or less conventional parking meter head mounted upon a standpipe within which the signalling means of this invention is entirely concealed.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view, on a reduced scale, of the standpipe showing the visual signalling means being withdrawn therefrom.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of the bottom end of the meter standpipe, its supporting base, and locking components associated therewith concealed within and thereby protected by the base.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional top plan view taken approximately along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the visual signalling means showing one form of hand grip for convenience in removing said means from the standpipe.

With continuing reference to the drawing wherein like references of character designate like parts, reference numeral 1 indicates a hollow standpipe having a conventional type of parking meter head 2 secured to its top end and with its bottom end secured in any suitable manner within an upwardly opening collar indicated at 3 integrated with a baseplate 4 by means of which the standpipe is permanently secured in any suitable manner to a sidewalk or some other support adjacent a parking space.

The meter head 2 is divided into a front section and a rear section both hingedly interconnected as at 6 and lockable together by a key in a key slot 6A and hingedly attached by the same hinge 6 to a skirt portion 7 secured to the top end of the standpipe 1. The meter head provides a housing for the meter mechanism, not shown, but forms no part of the present invention and in whatever type of meter head is used, when the two sections thereof are unlocked and swung open provide access to the top end of the standpipe 1. It is to be understood that the meter head may be attached and lockable to the top of the standpipe by a separate hinge and locking mechanism if desired with the hinge located at the front, at the rear or on either side thereof so that the meter head in its entirety may be swung off the vertical to provide access to the top of the standpipe.

The signalling means, in accordance with this invention, comprises an elongated hollow tubular metallic coin receptacle substantially coextensive in length with the height of the standpipe 1, closed at its bottom end by a bottom wall 16 (see FIG. 3), open at its top end and thereat provided with a hand-grip in the form of a bar 18 welded, brazed, or otherwise permanently secured across the top end of the tube 15 as shown in FIGURE 5.

The bottom wall 16 of the tube 15 is provided with two parallel downwardly extending arms 20 and 21 provided at their bottom ends respectively with inwardly turned dctents 22 and 23 adapted upon proper manipulation, known only to an authorized parking meter coin collector, for cooperation with a locking mechanism secured and concealed within and protected by the collar 3 of the bascplate 4. This locking mechanism comprises an inverted cup-shaped member having a top wall which provides a platform 30. A pin 25 extends through the standpipe and through the side walls of the cup-shaped member and thus secures the latter within the standpipe. The platform has diametrically opposed arcuate slots 32 and 33 extending therethrough whose outside edges are on a radius of curvature slightly greater than the radial disposition of the arms 20 and 21. Each arcuate slot is recessel radially inwardly as at 34-35 respectively to provide clearance for downward movement of the dctents 22 and 23 to a plane below the platform 30 and below the bottom edges of diametrically opposed lugs 36 and 37 adjacent one side of each of the recesses 34 and 35. A compression spring 40 is interposed between the bottom wall 16 of the coin receptacle 15 and the platform 30 and at all times bears thereagainst to normally maintain the tube 15 in its elevated fullline locked position relative to the platform 30 as shown in FIGURE 3.

Ordinarily, as is well known, an authorized collector of parking meter coins is provided with a key to gain access to the mechanism contained within the head 2 and/ or the conventional coin box, not shown. However, in the widespread vandalism in cities provided with thousands of parking meters, many counterfeit keys have been produced for surreptitious use by petty thieves and other vandals for breaking into the meters.

Assuming that a key is used by an unauthorized person to unlock and swing open the head 2 to expose the top of the coin tube 15, then that person with no knowledge of the necessary unlocking maneuver above described would naturally pull upwardly on the coin tube by means of the hand grip 18 which would only tend to more securely lock the detents 22-23 to the platform 30 since in order to disengage the detents from the underside of the platform it is necessary to rotate the tube sufficiently to first depress the tube so that it can be rotated with the detents 22 and 23 clearing the lugs 36 and 37 in order to position the detents in alignment with recesses 34 and 35, whereupon the tube, of course, can be lifted upwardly out of the standpipe without interference.

As previously stated, the coin tube is brightly colored throughout its length to attract the attention of any bystander, and if that would not sufiice as an alarm then the noisy pouring of the coins as aforesaid certainly would.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

I. An alarm signal for parking meters having a coinreceving head, comprising in combination,

a metal base having an upwardly opening collar integrated therewith,

a standpipe,

means permanently securing the bottom end of the standpipe to said base,

a coin-receiving meter head secured to the top end of the standpipe,

an elongated hollow tubular metallic coin receptacle disposed within said standpipe and substantially coextensive in length with the height thereof,

said tubular coin receptacle having a closed bottom end and an open top end,

locking means for the coin receptacle comprising a platform secured Within and elevated from the bottom end of the standpipe and having at least one arcuate slot therethrough and a radially disposed recess communicating with said slot,

at least one arm depending from said bottom end of said tubular coin receptacle and normally extending through said platform slot,

said arm provided with a radially inwardly disposed detent below said platform,

resilient means positioned between said platform and the bottom end of said coin receptacle for normally maintaining said receptacle in an elevated position relative to said platform,

whereby rotation of said coin receptacle and hence said detent out of engagement with said platform and into alignment with said radially disposed recess will allow removal of the coin receptacle from the standpipe.

2. An alarm signal for parking meters having a coinreceiving head, comprising in combination,

a metal base having an upwardly opening collar integrated therewith,

a standpipe,

means permanently securing the bottom end of the standpipe to said base within said collar,

a coin-receiving meter head secured to the top end of the standpipe,

an elongated hollow tubular metallic coin receptacle disposed Within said standpipe and substantially coextensive in length with the height thereof,

said tubular coin receptacle having a closed bottom end and an open top end,

locking means for the coin receptacle disposed within said base collar and comprising a platform secured within and elevated from the bottom end of the standpipe and having two diametrically opposed arcuate slots therethrough and radially disposed recesses communicating with said slots,

a pair of diametrically opposed arms depending from said bottom end of said tubular coin receptacle and normally extending through said platform slots,

said arms provided with radially inwardly disposed detents below said platform, resilient means positioned between said platform and the bottom end of said coin receptacle for normally maintaining said receptacle in an elevated position relative to said platform,

whereby rotation of said coin receptacle and hence said detents out of engagement with said platform and into alignment with said radially disposed recesses will allow removal of the coin receptacle from the standpipe,

and whereby destructive severance of said standpipe and said coin receptacle above said base collar will not disturb their interlocked engagement within said base collar.

Hart Apr. 7, 1891 Henderson Dec. 13, 1960 

1. AN ALARM SIGNAL FOR PARKING METERS HAVING A COINRECEIVING HEAD, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A METAL BASE HAVING AN UPWARDLY OPENING COLLAR INTEGRATED THEREWITH, A STANDPIPE, MEANS PERMANENTLY SECURING THE BOTTOM END OF THE STANDPIPE TO SAID BASE, A COIN-RECEIVING METER HEAD SECURED TO THE TOP END OF THE STANDPIPE, AN ELONGATED HOLLOW TUBULAR METALLIC COIN RECEPTACLE DISPOSED WITHIN SAID STANDPIPE AND SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE IN LENGTH WITH THE HEIGHT THEREOF, SAID TUBULAR COIN RECEPTACLE HAVING A CLOSED BOTTOM END AND AN OPEN TOP END, LOCKING MEANS FOR THE COIN RECEPTACLE COMPRISING A PLATFORM SECURED WITHIN AND ELEVATED FROM THE BOTTOM END OF THE STANDPIPE AND HAVING AT LEAST ONE ARCUATE SLOT THERETHROUGH AND A RADIALLY DISPOSED RECESS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID SLOT, AT LEAST ONE ARM DEPENDING FROM SAID BOTTOM END OF SAID TUBULAR COIN RECEPTACLE AND NORMALLY EXTENDING THROUGH SAID PLATFORM SLOT, SAID ARM PROVIDED WITH A RADIALLY INWARDLY DISPOSED DETENT BELOW SAID PLATFORM, RESILIENT MEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID PLATFORM AND THE BOTTOM END OF SAID COIN RECEPTACLE FOR NORMALLY MAINTAINING SAID RECEPTACLE IN AN ELEVATED POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID PLATFORM, WHEREBY ROTATION OF SAID COIN RECEPTACLE AND HENCE SAID DETENT OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PLATFORM AND INTO ALIGNMENT WITH SAID RADIALLY DISPOSED RECESS WILL ALLOW REMOVAL OF THE COIN RECEPTACLE FROM THE STANDPIPE. 